It’s true today, and it will be true for years to come:
Your resume is your first and best impression when applying for jobs. It’s how you get to the top of the pile in the hiring process.
Technology is very much part of the recruiting process. Technology platforms like applicant tracking systems (ATS) help recruiters and hiring teams organize applicants, assess candidates’ fit for a job opening, or even source potential candidates from non-traditional backgrounds.
All that said, hiring decisions are still a very human process and will remain so.
Your resume is the best way to communicate your career story, whether sharing it with a connection made through networking, or when applying to a job online. It’s how you earn the opportunity to share more of your story at an interview!
The strongest candidates we meet and place in tech jobs have resumes that are clear and outcome-driven in how they tell a story about your work experience.
Here’s our “7 Habits of Highly Effective Tech Resumes” for you:
- Tell the story behind the tech.
- Recent and relevant wins matter most.
- Be specific about the tools you use.
- Structure like a product owner.
- Speak the language of that company’s industry.
- Put certifications front-and-center.
- Highlight your soft skills like communication and cross-functional work as a differentiator.
So what do these look like when you put them into practice? Let’s dive in.
1. Tell the Story Behind the Tech
Many resumes we see are still packed with surface-level keywords and bullet lists of responsibilities. Passive statements like “used Jira” and “worked in an Agile team” might be good enough to get past an ATS if you match the job posting, but a hiring manager or recruiter will be looking for much more.
Every bullet point should be a snapshot of a moment when your skills made a difference. Think beyond what you did and share how your work made things better. Did your actions save time? Improve a process? Reduce errors? Drive revenue? When you show the outcome, you help the reader understand the value you bring. That is a lot of work to collect and track those outcomes and the journey that led to them, but that’s the kind of insight that sticks with hiring managers.
Remember that specific tools or languages are part of the story, not the whole story.
The whole story will include:
- What did you accomplish with that tool or that language?
- What problem did you help solve?
- What was the business result?
- What was the timeline for that project or initiative?
Traditional example:
- Used Jira and Azure DevOps to manage user stories.
Stronger example:
- Supported a 6-sprint rollout of a new customer claims portal by managing 120+ Agile user stories in Jira and Azure DevOps.
Our takeaway: If you have these four ingredients (Action, Tech, Business Result, Timeframe) you have the freedom to write and communicate that information in a way that feels natural to you.
2. Recent and Relevant Wins Matter Most
Technology changes fast, and if you earnestly focus on continuous learning as you’re growing your career, the experience you gain on that journey will show on your resume.
For professionals who maybe haven’t been on the job market in 5-10 years and haven’t been as invested in professional learning and development, this might be a little more complicated, but still achievable!
In the process of building action-based statements we outlined above, you will likely learn a few different ways you can position the work you’ve done. The key is building relevance between the work you’ve done, and the solutions businesses are looking for today.
Story time: Let’s take an example of someone – let’s call her Alex – who worked in a bank for 15 years, moving up the ranks from Teller to Branch Manager. After completing several bootcamps and certification courses, she now works as a Scrum Master on a technology team at a large financial services company.
Rather than listing every position Alex held for her 15-year banking career, with several bullets showing responsibilities for each role, she could have one employment listing on her resume with that bank for all 15 years. Bullet points could then be used to share the titles on her career progression to Branch Manager and go into more depth on business results she drove at each stage.
Alex’s knowledge of working in a bank may be helpful to understand user experiences as a Scrum Master helping a team design a financial product, but the specific responsibilities of each role from Teller to Branch Manager are not as relevant as her Agile project management experience and skills.
Our takeaway: Use a brief, 2-3 sentence Summary section at the top of the resume to call out your most-impactful career wins. Save space by consolidating or leaving off previous jobs that are irrelevant to the one you’re applying to, directing more focus to your most recent and relevant experience.
3. Be Specific About the Tools You Use
Does your resume just speak to general work in database management and applications? Or does it call out specific languages like SQL, Python, or Postgres?
And if you get the interview, can you speak to the nuances between different languages and when you might use one versus the other?
Hopefully you’re picking up on a core lesson here: the tools and skills you’ve learned are valuable, but what’s even more valuable is showing what you did with them. Hiring managers will want to know what you have accomplished and how you did it, so they can envision what you’ll accomplish at their company.
Traditional example:
- Worked on data analysis and visualization projects.
Stronger example:
- Queried SQL Server databases to analyze customer churn. Visualized trends in Tableau for quarterly business reviews.
Our takeaway: Name the tools and show what you accomplished with them.
4. Structure Like a Product Owner
Think of your resume like a product requirements doc – a clear, concise document used by product teams. Product owners use these to refine what a product should do, why it matters, and how success will be measured. It guides development by focusing on needs, functionality, and outcomes.
And just like that product requirements doc, your resume shows the functionality and outcomes you drive as a technology professional:
- Is your resume clear, skimmable, and focused on outcomes?
- Bullet points beat paragraphs.
- Verbs lead the way.
- Each line should reflect value.
Start each bullet with a strong action verb. Highlight not just what you did, but why it mattered. Avoid passive language or filler like “responsible for.” Own your accomplishments with confidence.
Traditional example:
- Responsible for gathering requirements from users.
Stronger example:
- Gathered and documented 200+ requirements across 3 business units; delivered FSDs that cut rework by 30%.
Our takeaway: Ask yourself, “If I were hiring someone for this job, would this resume build confidence?” If it’s not clear, focused, and results-driven, it’s time for a rewrite.
5. Speak the Language of the Industry
Every industry has its own shorthand. Whether it’s HIPAA in healthcare, PCI-DSS in finance, or CMMC in manufacturing, knowing the standards of that industry helps you stand out.
You don’t need to be an expert in their world yet. Speaking their language shows you’re ready to step into it. Understanding what goes into different industry standards helps you draw connections between past work and what you might do in that new role.
Traditional example
- Supported compliance initiatives across teams.
Stronger example:
- Collaborated with audit team on HIPAA compliance assessment for healthcare client, addressing 12 key risk areas.
Our takeaway: Use the words your target company uses. It’s not just about sounding smart, it’s about showing you’re already thinking like one of them.
6. Put Certifications Front and Center
Certifications don’t guarantee the job, but they do build immediate credibility. They show you’ve put in the time to grow your skills and understand key frameworks, tools, or methodologies.
Especially in roles like Project Managers, Business Analysts, Scrum Masters, Data Analysts, or Cloud Architects, a certification can be the thing that catches the eye of a hiring manager, which earns their attention to review the rest of your resume.
Don’t bury them at the bottom. Make it easy for someone scanning your resume to see those credentials within the first few seconds.
Instead of burying your certifications in an Education section of your resume, add a line below your name and contact information that lists your certifications.
Our takeaway: Let your certifications lead. They tell a story of dedication, upskilling, and curiosity, all qualities hiring managers love to see.
7. Highlight Communication and Cross-Functional Work
Technical skill gets your foot in the door. Communication is what helps you thrive in the room.
How have you helped connect the dots between departments, roles, or business goals? In today’s tech environments, success often comes from collaboration across functions.
- Did you translate technical details to help non-technical stakeholders make decisions?
- Did you gather input from finance, marketing, or operations teams?
- Were you the go-between for end users and the development team?
These are crucial contributions that hiring managers want to see – and you can show them on your resume. They might even become great conversation points in the interview!
And again, this doesn’t have to be complicated. Think about the conversations, relationships, and handoffs that helped your projects succeed.
Traditional example:
- Worked with other departments on project tasks.
Stronger example:
- Coordinated weekly syncs with product, compliance, and customer support teams to align on features for a new mobile app, helping reduce rework by 30% in the final sprint.
Our takeaway: Don’t underestimate the power of people skills. If your resume shows how you worked across teams and kept communication flowing, you’ll show hiring managers that you’re a connector, a collaborator, and a trusted teammate.
Level Up Your Tech Career
The name of the game here is showing action and impact, and getting your whole experience on paper. You can build a resume that connects with hiring managers and stands out in both human and technology-driven processes. While your resume should still be representative of you as a person and a candidate, these best practices offer real solutions to build trust and get hired.
And remember: this doesn’t have to be perfect from day one. Resumes are living documents. Update it, improve it, and keep telling your story as your career grows.
Navigating the tech job market is competitive. It’s not uncommon to see hundreds of applicants for a single job posting. If you’re seeking support on the path to your next role, working with a recruiter could be the boost you need. Browse our open roles here and reach out to us if you find an opportunity you’d like to explore more.
